Guilty Until Proven Innocent

[BlueEyedLady]

Tanya

Tanya turned and looked at Brandon as he spoke, looked for any sign of deceit. Couldn't find any. But he could be a very accomplished liar or be telling the truth. She didn't know.

My God! When had she become like this? Trusting no one and letting no one close? It had kept her alive but was it a life worth living? Suddenly she didn't know the answer to that. She had put alot of people away, had saved some lives she liked to think, had made it possible for the police to do a better job even if the justice system was fucked up and let the bastards out again. She just went after them again...and again...and again. This was her life.

And it might very well be all she ever had. It didn't seem like she would ever know the side of life that was softer, warmer, more personal. Her glance strayed to Hank for a long moment and then back to Brandon.

"Yes, there is something else. Tell me about Jill," She said her voice softening for a moment,"I know you through research. I know alot about what makes you tick. Now I'm not trailing you...I'm trailing her. And I need to know everything you can tell me about the woman you profess to love." She paused,"Even about how you two got along."

There was another reason Tanya had asked the question. It was true that she needed to know about Jill, needed to know what to expect. But she wanted to see Brandon's face as he talked about her, wanted to see if he really felt everything he said he did, she wanted to see if there was anything to indicate he had the will power and lack of feelings to harm the woman.

 

[Evil Attorney]

Lizard's plane was in the air a few hours away from landing.

He was sleeping like a baby. In a few hours he would link up with his team that was on sceen.
They were in the area as of yesterday.

One analyst and three of his shooters.

Francis was the oldest of the bunch at 68. She was an analyst with the CIA specialising in domestic opperations. She was a grandmother, and boy did she have stories to tell.
She was one of his best thinkers, and she would be invaluable in piecing togther any information they came across. She wasn't a fighter, but she was decent with her little S&W 9mm.

Tara and Mary were sisters, both 32 years old although they looked 25. They were nice girls off the job. On the Job, they were serious people not afraid to pull the trigger and both had done it before.

Each was married and mothers of small children who they left behind with their husbands in Jersey. They were married to Doctors, Tara's husband was a plastic surgon, Mary's was a dentist.

They were former Police from the LAPD and got tired of being shot at, and when Lizard made an offer, they took him up on it. Tough, hardened veterans at their young age, they were very good at urban combat and had scored off the charts on Shoot-No Shoot training. Don't ask one of them for comfort on the job though. Neither one is all that sympathetic.

Usualy they worked security at high risk locations undercover, but Lizard wanted them around for this. Too many people who weren't involved around, and he didn't want to have to explain any unnecessary corpses.

Al was a fomer NYPD officer with 25 years on the job.
He was a smart, detail oriented, conciencious and sadistic person with notches in his gun and more on his nightstick. After a few (lots) too many of "justified" use of force incidents, they asked him to take retirement(forced him out).

Many of these beatings took place during his tour with the sex crimes unit.

Al looked like a fatman, but he was actualy as strong as a silverback gorrilla. People usualy thought he couldn't move all that well, and they are right, he can't go a backflip.
Al just smacks you and you spit teeth.

Unlike Talya and Mirian, Al was a sympathetic ear and had a degree in phycology. Al usualy worked looking for teen runaways. he was good at getting teens to talk. Ok, he was good at making ANYONE talk...which was kinda why he doen't work for the NYPD anymore...

They all knew the Boss had a shady past, but they didn't dwell on it. This particular team of people was the shooters Falcon Eye Investigations used for Legitimate Opperations.

None of these people were the shooters used for more off the books things...

They were awake in a hotel room studying maps and other pertinant information related to the file which they were supposedly investigating.

Sure enough, untill recently, it didn't tie into Tailor's buisness until recently, as they were supposedly looking for her in other cities and in Canada.

Candice was a girl who liked to travel and ran away several times, so it was not improbable that she left town without anyone knowing about it.

Only after the likely was disgarded, 2 months of investigations as the file said...was the improbable looked at. Things like a sex slavery ring...

Once Jill was kidnapped and one of the investigators pulled it togther, the trail dovetailed with Brandon's closely, but not exactly.

The forgery people made sure to come to slighlty different conclusions, missed some details and included others from the FBI which weren't know to Brandon to be included in his report.

It definatly wasn't a copy. It corroborated and confirmed his findings about 70 percent. Some of the minor and not so minor points were different and had reasonable but false conclusions reguarding them, but the team investigating the incident believed Brandon wasn't the killer.

Francis was a mage when it came to sneaky shit like this...

Routine investigation, routine case...till an investigator going over cold cases makes a connection. It happens all the time in police departments and detective agencies all over the world.

They knew the case. Al was the lead investigator. Tara and Mary, the troubleshooters.

If anyone asked why they were on it...Mr. K owed Candice's mom a debt from a Vietnam.

In a stroke of luck, she was a Flight Nurse and was in-country at the same time he was for a few months.

The perfect explination for why someone like Mr. K was intrested in this.

A debt of honor. For an old soldier, or even someone like the Boss with his rep, it worked.

Hell of it was, it wasn't a lie. It was just the names were changed.

At 3:00 AM the all called it quits.

Al ate the last of his BLT to the disgusted looks of Tara and Mary. He shrugged and said "I used to be a pig, G0D created pigs. You used to be pig too...For fuck's sake, let me fucking eat..."

Tara and Mary looked at Al.
Mary said with a straight face "You are going to die from eating that shit."
Tara said "You should try some Granola."

They then broke out laughing and all of them crashed in their rooms.

The boss was ariving in 5 hours and they needed to be up an running by then.

 

[PhoenixPrime01]

Brandon:

He was surprised by Tanya's question. He opened a Coke and drank about half of the can as he perched on the edge of his chair, a far away look in his eyes.

Not the thousand yard stare, but one of someone looking back into his past. He slowly smiled. His voice was soft, quiet as he began to speak as though to himself.

"Hank introduced us once we'd become buddies. He'd been my wrench for several years by then.
"He had a bar-b-que in his back yard and Jill was there. That's where we first met.
"Later we both agreed it was like being struck by lightening when our eyes met, when we shook hands. There was no turning back from then on.
"Within a month we were living together.
"What's she like?
"She beautiful inside and out. She's intelligent. She's better educated than I am. She's tough, a real fighter.
"She can do and does anything she sets her mind to and really wants to do, anything at all.
"We fight like cats and dogs quite often, but oh my the making up rocks the world.
"That's my Jill."

Then the look in his eyes changes. Any trace of softness is gone in a moment. His blue eyes now look as hard and cold as glacier ice.

The voice that was so soft moments ago could not cut a diamond in half it's so hard as he literally growls, "And I'll personally and very slowly tear apart any scumbag motherfucker who's dared to harm her. Anybody and all of them one by one."

He sits silently for a few moments, shakes himself, chugs the last of the soda and looks up at Tanya.

"I hope that answers your question satisfactorily Tanya."

 

[BlueEyedLady]

Tanya

Tanya stared at Brandon for a moment before replying and then nodded, waving her hand toward the bathroom. Before he got there, though, she stopped him by speaking in a low tone.

"Brandon..." She said, for the first time calling him by his first name,"Jill is a lucky girl. And...we will find her and they will pay for whatever they have done to her. That I promise you."

When he left to take his shower, Tanya took out another cigarette and lit it, drawing on it slowly. Yes, they would pay for hurting her. For trying to drain her life of happiness. There were too many people in the world that didn't know that happiness. Tanya would be damned if someone who had it was going to have it ripped away because some asshole decided he wanted to abuse it.

 

[PhoenixPrime01]

Brandon:

He stopped and looked over his shoulder at her. He nodded and smiled at the first part of what she said then frowned and added, "But Taylor's mine. All mine and only mine."

He went into the bathroom, shut the door and in a few minutes the water was running.

 

[Evil Attorney]

At 7 AM Lizards plane touched down at the airport. Al and Feancis were their to meet him.

Tara and Mary were watching Tanya, Brandon and Hank from across the street. They had looked into the van and found Vinny.

It wasn't Vinny's week. First getting his nuts smashed by Tanya, then that enraged madman Hank, then the playboy bunnies from hell started asking him questions.

He didn't even let them say a word before he started confessing.

Tara wanted to kill him just on principal, but Mary had her wait. "Remember, no unnecessary body count..."

Tara scoweled and agreed.

They were to watch and wait for Tanya, then approach her to open the dance.

It was felt that they would have the best chance of a civil meeting, or at least one were noone got killed.

They were conservatively dressed young women, one in black, the other in deep navy blue. Each had a light jacket hiding a thin level IIA vest, a Glock 32 .357 sig in a kydex pants rig, several knives, the obligatory sap and OC spray, and flexicuffs.

The Babes, as Mr. K liked to call them, liked .357 sig. Originaly trained on .357 revolvers, they loved the way it dropped assholes and got a rush from the snappy recoil.

They hoped their husbands were horney when they got back home. It was looking like they were going to have to kill some real fuckheads and when that happened it was good luck for the Doctors...bada bing...

Watching the room from the diner across the street , Mary suddenly said "Movement in the drapes."

Tara sent a text message to Al on his cell phone. Encrypted traffic can possibly allert people becuase of the extra power in its transmission. It buzzs on TVs and raidos.

Texting, on the other hand, was just encoded, not encrypted.

She typed "I'm horney for you. I'm really in the mood for a MFM. Your place or mine..."

MFM, Hank, Tanya and Brandon.

The message was replied to with the "Your place. I'm at work, be home in 15."

Mary looked at Tara. "15 minutes"

The paid their check, left a tip and walked by the bus boy, one patting his ass, the other pinching his cheeks. Poor boy.

Time to introduce themselves they thought as they walked to the stairs leading up to Tanya's room.

 

[BlueEyedLady]

Jill (A desperate plan)

Jill didn't know what time it was but the sun had not peeked out to dispell the night yet when she finally hit the edge of civilization and a small suburb of, mostly, closed shops and trashed businesses. It was at a closed up, boarded up gas station that she found a pay phone that didn't look in too good of condition. Crossing her fingers and sending a prayer heavenward, she picked up the reciever and almost sobbed in relief as she heard a dial tone.

Looking along the deserted stretch of road, she quickly dialed 911 and waited impatiently for somone to pick up. When she heard a woman's voice on the other end, she didn't even let her finish her monotone introductory speel.

"You have to help me," She said, her eyes constantly searching the road for a sign of a vehicle or any life at all. "They...they are looking for me and I don't have much time."

The bored sounding woman on the other end replied,"Calm down, Mam. Where are you and what is the nature of your emergency?"

Jill looked frantically around for a street sign but found none. "I...I don't know. A road, by a gas station but...it's not open. It's out of business..."

"What is the nature of your emergency?" The dispatcher repeated and Jill could hear some electronic clicking over the phone. They were probably tracing the call.

"They...they are after me!" She repeated,"And if they find me...God! If they find me they are going to do terrible things to me. I know....I know! And they want the information and they will hurt me to get it. Please, I need help!"

"What is your name, Mam, and who are They?" The dispatcher said in the same monotone and then Jill caught the sound of her whispering over a mike that wasn't quite covered by her hand. Bill, I think we have a crazy woman on the line.

Jill's temper flared, she didn't have time for this! "I am NOT crazy!" She shouted into the phone. "I know what they want but I don't have it! They want to make me tell them but I won't. He...he told them...he told the men to rape me...he wanted to sc..scare me into telling him but I think he would have let them if..." Jill could feel her tight control on her emotions slipping.

"Please, Mam," the dispatcher said,"Calm down and tell me your name."

"My name?" Jill's tirade was interrupted by the question which she didn't seem to be able to focus on. "Jill...Jill Meyers." There was more whispering in the background and, this time, the woman made sure to cover her mic.

"Ms Meyers," the dispatcher said and Jill thought there was a hint of sarcasm or, at least, disbelief to it. "Where are you now? I am going to have a police car come and pick you up. They will take you to someplace safe."

Jill looked down at the phone in disbelief. What the hell was going on? She was in danger and the woman acted like she was a lunatic that needed a padded room.

"Listen to me!" Jill just about screamed into the phone. "My boss is trying to kill me! Or at least he is trying to hurt me. But, if he gets what he wants he will kill me! Do you understand that! My God! What is wrong with you people? I need some help, Dammit! I am not crazy! I was kidnapped and held and...and molested and...." The tide suddenly broke and Jill could feel the hot tears pour down her face. "And...and he wanted to take pictures...and he wanted...God! He wanted to rape me himself and said I would like it!"

"Mam," The dispatcher sounded like she was close to losing patience,"Please...calm down. The police officer is on his way and you will be in a safe place where no one can harm you."

"A safe place!?" Jill cried into the phone,"You want them to lock me up in a nut house! You don't believe me! My God! Why won't someone believe me?"

Jill gasped for breath, feeling like she was going to hyperventilate. "Brandon..." She said, as if reaching out for a straw in a sea of confusion. "Brandon...Brandon Smythe..."

"Is that the name of your boss, Mam?" The dispatcher asked, not really interested, merely trying to keep her on the phone.

"What?" Again the confusion at the question and then Jill almost spat out,"God! No! Brandon Smythe...He...he has the key to this. He has it! I...I couldn't...I gave it...He has the key! You have to find him and tell him that he has the key to it! God, he will know...please let him know..."

"Ms Meyers," The woman said, then murmured something to someone next to her,"Help will be arriving soon. Please stay where you are at and the officer will be there."

"No," Jill shook her head as if the woman could see it,"No, you don't believe me. If...if you come and take me...He has people in all kinds of places. They'll kill me...or let him get to me. Oh, God! He could have people in the police...He could know right now!"

"Ms Meyers," The dispatcher began but Jill cut her off.

"I have to go...I have to go...I can't stay here...Tell...tell Brandon...tell him he has the key to this. Tell him...tell him I love him and I'm sorry that I fought with him. Tell him that...that I don't think he will see me alive again. I...I have to go back...He has to take the information and...he will know what to do...I know he will...I'm going to go and find my boss...I'll...I'll tell him I have the information...I'll tell him that...I don't know what I'll tell him but it will give Brandon time...time to do what he has to..."

A sharp sob came over the line as Jill tried to impress the importance of what she was saying on the woman on the other end. "And, Hank, my brother...I...I'm sorry that I let us get so far apart. I wish...Tell Hank that I don't know what he thinks he did to make it necessary to stay away but that he...he was always my hero. Tell him that...because I don't think I am going to be able. And tell my parents that...I'm sorry...and I love them..."

"Ms Meyers," The dispatcher replied,"Please, you have to calm down...Ms Meyers? Ms Meyers?" But she was speaking to dead air because the reciever at the pay phone by the deserted gas station was now hanging loose and swinging with only a disembodied voice at the other end calling her name. Jill, was running off through whatever shelter the trees and bushes that were growing wild around the place could afford.



An hour later, at 5 am, Jeremy Thompson, a good cop and friend and contact of Tanya's was walking through the station, his shift almost over and he stopped at the 911 station to flirt with the new girl there when he overheard a conversation between another dispatcher and cop. It concerned a woman who they thought might be off balance, to put it nicely, and the dispatcher, a woman known to be less than nice and more than a bitch on a good day, played the 911 call for the other cop.

Jeremy froze when he heard it. He knew the situation and he knew that Tanya was looking for the supposed killer of the girl who just contacted them. He had also heard rumors that the murder had been made to look like Jill Meyers but those were only rumors. Or so he thought.

Half an hour and some hard flirting later, he had a copy of the tape and had made contact with another of Tanya's contacts he knew. Getting the information on where she was, he climbed in his cruiser and was in the parking lot of the motel by a little after 6 am and before Lizard's girls had made their way to the parking lot. He came by a back way for precautionary measures and was knocking on the door, tape in hand, hoping it wasn't too late.

 

[BlueEyedLady]

Tanya

Tanya had answered the door, gun in hand and was surprised to see Thompson. So far in this case, she hadn't contacted him about anything. It only took a quick whispered conversation while she stood in the doorway, blocking the sight of Brandon with her body to realize that what information he had was important.

Taking the tape and thanking the young cop, she went to her bag and dug out her cassette player, plugging her earphones in and listening in private to the message. The looks that crossed her face were not pleasant and, when she finally yanked the earphones out, the curses that spilled from her would have made a sailor blush.

Waking up the two men, she told Hank to give her all his weapons before she told him what it was about. She would be damned if she was going to let the man rush out head long into God only knew what, guns blazing and killing anything and anyone who got in his way. No, if he was going to blow up it would be without something to express his anger with.

But this new info meant they had to act and act fast. If Jill was really going to do what she planned than she was going to be in alot more trouble than she had been in before. It also meant that Jill had found a way to get free from her captor and that Brandon wasn't the one that had captured her. She also thought that there was a message in the conversation. Jill had said to the dispatcher pretty much what she had said to Hank when she had called. And they had to figure out what she was trying to say before the shit hit the fan.

When both men were alert and she was sure they were both unarmed, she took out her earphones and played the tape, watching the emotions play on both of their faces. When it was done, she turned it off and said,"Okay, our time of indecision is up. If we are going to save Jill we have to go straight to the source. Taylor. And, whether I like it or not, we may have to have some help."

She didn't want to call on the Lizard. She hated the thought of doing it. But this was a desperate situation and she didn't have time to play hero and go in with only Brandon and Hank. Taylor would be too protected and, if they didn't have back up, they could all end up dead, including Jill. And she didn't trust the police not to get trigger happy. No, they would do this her way. And, before Lizard, that fucking bastard, would be let in on this, he would understand that it was her way or no way. Of that she would make sure.

 

[Evil Attorney]

Hank listened to the tape as it was played.

He looked at Brandon and said,"Ok. I was wrong. I apologise." and offered him his hand.

They shook hands and hugged.

Hank was relieved. Relieved Jill was alive and that they had someone who they could question in a manner that would make Vinny's ordeal look pleasant.

"Ok, what the fuck is the key? You know what Jill told me, and you have her heart, but the key? A safety deposit box of some kind? A storage locker? Something to do with a file on her computer that you know the encryption KEY for?"

Hank looked out the window to check the Van. It was still ok their, as was his car.

If he kept Lex for the night, and Vinny stayed and maybe got apiece of her too, then they may have a problem in a few hours when Vinny didn't return with her...

"Tanya, Brandon...we still have the Vinny. He is secure in the back of the van, arms broke and tied up like a mummy.

I...I...well, personaly, I'd like to see him drowned. He delivered Lex to what he knew was a loin's den like a piece of meat. For that he deserves a bullet.

What do you want to do with him? We could give vinny to him" pointing at Thompson, " or just leave him here in the tub for later..."

And with that their was a knock on the door...


Tara and Mary knocked on door. Their weapons were holstered and they kept their hands visible. They weren't here for a fight, but to talk.

Their job was two-fold. Start talking to Tanya, and they brought a summary of their files to share with her.

The other part was to see to it that Tanya and her people remained were they were for at least another quarter hour. The boss was coming and he didn't like it when simple assignments were fucked up.

He didn't like it when complex and delicate shit was fucked up either, but that kind of thing had murphy factored into it.

This was simple.

Talk to Tanya for a few minutes.

...

Hank heard the knock and grabbed the shotgun silently, kneeled behind the bed so only the autoloading shotgun and a little of his head was visible.

With his left hand on the grip of the shotgun, he offered Brandon his Sig Saur 220 with his right.

If shit went down, he didn't want someone backing him with a .380, glasers or not.

The Brits and James fucking Bond... UGH... Why the fuck couldn't Brandon have picked up a 1911 or a Glock? Something with more power than a 9mm short.

Jill's squeeze or not, good shot or not, a .380 in a gunfight wasn't his idea of a good time...

 

[PhoenixPrime01]

Brandon:

He sat listening to the tape after the cobwebs of much needed sleep had disspelled. His emotions swung from soft and tender to hard and more hate filled than ever before in his life. He'd use his hands to take Taylor apart joint by joint if Jill was harmed in anyway and if not just beat him so badly it'd haunt his nightmares for the rest of his unnatural and crippled life.

When there was a knock on the door and Hank handed him the Sig he pulled the slide back just far enough to be sure there was a round in the chamber and placed himself inside the bathroom kneeling behind the doorjamb pistol pointed between the window and door so either was each to aquire if needed and just the side of his face visible.

 

[BlueEyedLady]

Tanya

Tanya stashed her tape player away as she answered Hank. "As for Vinny. We untie him, put him in a cab and let him go back to his employer. We are going to go to Taylor's residence and confront him head on. If that's where he is, that's where Jill will head. At least I hope so. I want to head her off before she carries out this insane plan of hers. Meanwhile we have to decipher what the hell she was trying to say. And I hate to say it but we just might need backup...and not the legal kind..."

At that point there was a knock on the door. Tanya cursed and drew her weapon, going to the drapes and looking out of the gap without pulling it back. How the hell was everyone finding her? She might as well put up her location in skywriting for all the good being here was doing.

She scanned the two women at the door with a practiced eye. They were carrying. She could tell by their stance. They seemed to be at ease but she could tell that they were ready to go into action at the first provocation. Three guesses who they were from. And Tanya didn't need the first two.

Taking out her cell phone, she found Lizard's number and hit the send button. When he picked up, she started in, not giving him time to talk.

"Okay, Asshole," She said, biting out the words,"I am getting sick and fucking tired of this shit. Call off your bitches outside my door and do it now or I start firing through the damn door and into your little pretties and to hell with the consequences. I don't know why the fuck you have poked your nose into this, Lizard-Boy, and I frankly don't give a flying damn. Your kind sickens me and I would rather put a bullet into all of yours than spit on you. Unfortunately I just might need your services."

"Meet me at the Crispy Kreme for breakfast. The one on main street. No four star breakfast for you today, Liz, we eat on my turf and we talk on my terms. You had better think on what to say really hard cause when I come in you had better have a good explanation for how you know me and what I am doing right now and don't give me any bullshit about it. If I smell cow pies I am out of there and you can bet your ass you will be singing a different tune when I put a goddamn foot up it."

"I know about you...at least what you haven't covered up. And what I know is enough to make me sick and my skin crawl. But, since that is the impression you usually like to leave with people I don't see that bothering you. Twenty minutes and call off the bimbos or pick them up at the morgue."

Clicking her phone back down, she lit a cigarette and watched to see what reaction her call would get.

 

[PhoenixPrime01]

Brandon:

He knelt listening to Tanya. His eyebrow arched at the mention of Lizard, but he chuckled at her threats.

Nonetheless, his attention to the door/window never wavered, nor did the pistol in his hand between the two.

 

[Evil Attorney]

Lizard's phone rang just as he was taking the first bite of a Hot Glazed doughnut.

He chewed, took a swallow of coffee and let it go down his throat.

Perfection...

Ah, Tanya. Right on que...and she was upset. He mouthed "PMS" to Al.

"I see you found out who I am. My hat's off to you and your investigator. My employees are their to offer you a summation of out investigation. They have it in hardcopy, I'm afraid we didn't have time to give you powerpoint.

My employees have their orders to hand you the information personaly, and I don't think I will take you advice about calling them off.

Now, you will open the door, allow them to hand you or someone in your room, I believe you have Jill's brother and another man...Smythe, is it?...The summation, and then they will leave.

If you harm my employees...I won't like it very much. "

His voice was like honey. Rich, full of experience, confidence and knoledge.

"I'm not here to butt heads with you, Miss King. I'm not here to steal your bounty. I'm not here to kill you, Smythe, Jill or anyone else who's hands are clean in this matter.

I'm here because a little girl who went off to college to become a teacher ended up going through hell, then was burned to death and ended up in a ditch.

Candice Morehouse was her name, and her mother pulled a bullet out of my ass in Vietnam, and because of that, I'm involved."

Now his voice became silky and light...Like the silk that hid the dagger's bite.

"I am willing to work with you as you are the profesional on sceen, and I do respect your credentials, Miss King. I respect them so seriously, I decided to contact you and offer to work with you, rather than go alone in this matter, because as good as my team is, we would do better working with you than without you.

But I will not be threataned.

I offered you no agression, no threats. I offered you information and aid...yet you threatan my people, and I don't like that very much...

So, Miss King, whats it to be? Are you going to make an enemy... or are you going to make the smart choice? "

Lizard hung up the phone.

Tara and Mary would contact him with the results either way.

They weren't in any danger, Tanya was good, but not out of her fucking gourd. Killing them would mean war, which she would loose.

If need be, they could leave the file and let her thing she won. They had a mission, how it was acomplished was their choice as long as it succeeded.

He took another bite of his doughnut and sip of coffee. Ahhh....Perfect.

 

[BlueEyedLady]

Tanya

Tanya ignored the asshole. She was sick and tired of people trying to take over her job. She didn't give a shit why Lizard was in this, he had butted heads with her and given her orders. Not a good thing to do. She didn't give a fuck who he was or what he was capable of.

Redialing, she spoke to him again. "Don't underestimate me. The worst possible thing you can do is think you can give me orders. Don't ever tell me what to do. You can have the bitches leave the shit on the doorstep and get the hell out and then you can meet me in person. I don't deal with lackeys and I'm sick and tired of playing phone tag. I have my own resources and I can pull so many red herrings across your path that you won't know where the hell I am much less follow me. Now get off your damn high horse and meet me at the donut place or lose your place in this. Period."

Shutting her cell phone off, she said over her shoulder to Brandon. "Any thoughts yet on what Jill's messages mean? It was obviously important enough for her to go back to Taylor and put herself in danger so you could do something with whatever it is she thinks you have."

 

[PhoenixPrime01]

Brandon:

Standing up again, but still watching the window and door, "Let me see what you wrote Hank."

(Copy and past it in the reply paste as if he's handing him the written notes he made from the call.)

 

[Evil Attorney]

Lizard was right.

PMS...

He text messaged Tara. "leave it"...

He looked at Francis and handed her $50. He shrugged and said "Thats what I get for betting against you. Ok, so is she going to work with us?

Francis said, "Yes. She is pissed off and doesn't like you at all, but she sees that you are here, can cause her grief on an unimaginable scale even if you don't kill her, and the upshot to working with you is your resources, your experiences and, point of fact, that its you, and your ability to go places she can not with people. She is respected...you sir, you terrify people.

She will meet us here. She will hiss and spit, but work with us. I warn you though, we may have to take orders from her if you really want to work with her..."

Al spoke up and asked "If we have to take orders from her, you know were out loyalty lays boss."

Al didn't have to lay it out.

Lizard said "This bitch is begining to get to be more trouble than she is worth...but honor is honor..."

Only Francis knew the whole story. To create an effective lie, one needs to know the real story. Tara, Mary and Al just knew the cover story about Candice Morehouse on the theory of what you don't know, you can't reveal.

They knew that someone called in a debt, or must have because the boss didn't usualy do shit like this or bend over backwards for just anyone

Francis was ex CIA. She knew how to keep her trap shut and he paid her enough that she would.

"As long as she makes sence, fuck it, yeah. I'm a goal oriented person. If she doublecrosses us..." He didn't even have to explain. That was the benifit of working with his people. They knew their ass from their elbow.

Tanya did. He was reasonably sure about Hank. Brandon seemed to as well...but they never worked with each other before and that was what made his people a lot better than hers.

His people had one agenda. His. tanya's people...well, a bounty hunter, a lover and a brother. No, they all were close but not with the same goals.


...

Tara recieved the message, put the file down, knocked once and left.
They knew were she was going. She was headed to were everyone in town in their buisness goes.

Krispy Kreeme.

 

[BlueEyedLady]

Tanya

Tanya waited until she knew the women were gone and then opened the door enough to get the file and close the door again. Tossing the file to Hank, she said,"Read it on the way and give me the short form orally. I'm driving."

To Brandon, she said,"There are more fire arms in the bag. Get yourself something decent or at least something to add to that pop gun of yours. We are going to go in for heavy fire. Also, there is extra ammo if you want."

Checking her own arms, she said,"We go in and talk to the slime. I'm going to let him take care of the outside people. Taylor is ours. But we keep him alive long enough to answer some questions. After that, well...I will probably go for a smoke. What you two do is none of my business,my job is done when we find Jill. I'll turn Brandon in and he can have a chance to clear his name. It's the only way."

 

[PhoenixPrime01]

Brandon:

He chooses a Paraordance 14+1 .45 ACP semi auto pistol and unloads it, does a quick field strip and puts it together again.

The clips unloaded and he uses the edge of the top sheet to reload it so there won't be any fingerprints then loads four more clips.

Once all's ready the high ride holster goes on one side, the magazine holder on the other. Pistol and clips are put in place, the PPK goes behind his back and Brandon's ready to go and is just waiting for what Hank jotted down so he could see if anything triggered his memory.

 

[Evil Attorney]

Hank got his gun back from Brandon, checked it and started reading the investigator's notes.

"Ok, Candice Morehouse, age 20, going to a state school...several times ran away from home when she was younger, disapeared from school, Falcon Eye investigated the usualy homless citites, Seatle, some places in Canada, didn't find her, checked the boyfriend and nothing...they were opperating on the assumption she was still alive because of sightings from sources but that turned out to be someone using her ID in Miami...case went cold for a while then the publicity from Jill's case caused an Investigator to look closer.

They started digging harder and looked for foul play. The burned bodies, and some sources more geared to white slavery than runaways lead them to belive she was murdered, and an autopsy confirmed it.

Some of it, well, most of it jives with our information. Some of it contradicts, but they have their own sources, including one in the FBI...and 2 more clubs in the area with links to a crime family that is heavy into prostitution and drugs.

They don't think Brandon did it either. They list it as a probablity of over 80% that he didn't kill Jill, and have it over 90 that Jill is alive. They know about the body in the mogure too.

Some stuff about Jill's boss off the FBI files. Fuck, one of the agents involved is suspected of being corupt, Jorgenson. ...

Tanya, I think they are legit. I'm looking at reports from a dozen field offices, and a lot of man hours of work.

He even has tatical maps of the area in the back, and power consumption charts from the electric company from 5 clubs in town...

Humm...and a nice subfile on Taylor too...

Whoever the fuck he is, this guy is bringing some serious firepower to the table, and its not just steel and musscle."

 

[PhoenixPrime01]

Brandon:

"I once met a guy who was with Taylor, a partner in the escort business he said. I think his name was Serge or Sergio or something like that.
"Don't know it that helps but just thought of it and hope it will.
"This is sounding more and more like organized crime than a local thing," he says to them both.

 

[BlueEyedLady]

Tanya

Tanya snorted. "Whatever Lizard is, legit is not one of them," She said as she picked up her jacket and shrugged into it and headed for the door. Turning to look at them both she added,"And you are forgetting something. Someone isn't just guessing. Someone isn't just wondering what Taylor is up to. Someone knows. And that someone is Jill. Whatever she found out...that's what is putting her in danger. The call to the police and the message to Hank confirmed that."

She stood there thinking. "And Taylor is scared shitless about what she knows. But it's more. She has proof. And if we had that proof than we could bring down the whole bunch of them, nice and neat. Oh, we are going into Taylor's place and we are going to take down whoever is there but it sounds like it runs alot deeper than that. And I would love to stop this operation cold. Keep families like the Meyers and Moorehouses from the fear and grief that these bastards are handing out and keep girls from falling into their hands."

Remembering that she had taken the piece of paper with Hank's written message that Jill had given him, she dug around in her jacket pocket and brought the crumpled piece out and handed it to Brandon.

It paraphrased the phone call:

"Shank, It's me. I've negotiated for the information. You know who has the key to this whole thing. I need you to be ready deliver it for me. I will call you back with when and where. Just make sure it's safe. My heart doesn't know what this is all about anymore. I just want out and I need your help. As always, keep the law out of this. Or else my safety can't be guaranteed."

"Let's go," she said when he took the message. We have an appointment to keep. He may be slime but he might be helpful slime."

 

[PhoenixPrime01]

Brandon:

He followed along reading and rereading the note as they made their way to their car.

Once in the back seat, "Hank, do you have any idea who Jill meant when she said, "... You know who has the key to this whole thing. ..." ?
"It seems that's the person we need to contact or find about this proof she mentions. I wonder if they even know that they have it? I'd think they'd have made some use of it if they did.
"She must feel you'd know who it is or I don't think she'd have said, "... I need you to be ready deliver it for me. ..."."

 

[BlueEyedLady]

Tanya

Tanya sighed and shook her head as she threw the butt out the window before starting the van and pulling out. Men! And they say planets are dense.

"Brandon," She said as if she were a school teacher trying to get to an especially slow child,"Did you not listen to the tape this morning or were you totally focused on the fact that you are ready to kill whoever did this to Jill? Which I wouldn't blame you for in the least except that what she said besides how her abductors treated her is very important."

"You Brandon Smythe, hold the key. Tell Brandon Smythe that he has the key to this. She said. Okay, you hold the key and you are supposed to do something with it. She was confident that, once you found out what that key was you would know what to do with it. Go over everything that happened that day before she disappeared and don't leave any detail out. I want to know what happened and what she could mean. She said she gave something. But what?"

 

[Evil Attorney]

Hank looked up from the reading on Taylor and asked Brandon, "Do you have any keys to any locks, safes or deposit boxes of Jill's? Come to think of it, were are the keys to Jill's and your appartment? We may need to get back in if something in hidden in that place."

 

[PhoenixPrime01]

Brandon:

"We share a saftey deposit box, I have out apartment key and we each have keys to the other's cars Hank, but as far as I know she doesn't have anything I don't have a key to," he says as he sticks a hand into his pocket and fishes out his keyring.

"Here are all of my or our keys....
"Hey, what's this doing on the key ring? It's not mine and I don't remember ever seeing it before.
"Looks like something for a computer, doesn't it?" Brandon asks holding it up so Hank can see it as well as Tanya in the rear view mirror.

"I wonder if this could be...."